Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Options are gravy - I lived through the first dot com era where we used stock options as a recruiting tool. We set our sites on our IPO price and then worked back to our current valuation and showed potential employees what we thought they could earn (with all legal caveats) if the company was successful.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Up and Running

MARCH 7, 2018

I spent years as a manager at a startup company. In my time, I learned a thing or two about the importance of preventing employee turnover. Aside from the time-consuming tasks of screening potential employees, interviewing, and re-hiring , losing and replacing employees is expensive. Here is how to do it.

Employee 91

Employee Startup Salary Hiring 91

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If you’re thinking about extending equity to an employee or a vendor (as in the example above), you should know that the topic is multi-faceted. If however you are giving a “normal employee” an incentive stock option plan (more on that later), that’s entirely different. Finding great employees first.

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

Many employees forget that there isn’t even a market for startup stock, until after the company has gone public, which hasn’t happened positively to many companies in the last few years. Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Many employees forget that there isn’t even a market for startup stock, until after the company has gone public, which hasn’t happened positively to many companies in the last few years. Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Here is my summary of the ten top creativity mistakes we both still see too often: Criticize any new idea or employee suggestion. Escalate all problems upward to senior management. Avoid the macho concept that only top management can solve problems, or address strategic challenges.

Stock Options 236

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 236

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 14, 2023

How about employees all the way down the line and through the corporation? But how about awarding stock options to all employees? These plans are not as popular today because of their complexity and difficulty to manage, lost in favor of simple stock option plans. Show everyone financials?

Employee 62

Employee Stock Options Stock Equity 62

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2009

Prominent finance publications like the WSJ and the Motley Fool along with several bloggers have recently taken shots at Google with respect to their decision to re-price a boat-load of employee stock options.

Stock Options 40

Stock Options Stock Finance Technical Review 40

Ben's Blog

OCTOBER 6, 2011

In theory, they want a well-managed company with a great culture. Similarly, a high quality Human Resources organization cannot make you a well-managed company with a great culture, but it can tell you when you and your managers are not getting the job done. The Employee Lifecycle. Performance management.

Management 64

Management Development Team Review Stock Options Technical Review 64

Women Entrepreneurs Can

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Benefits for employees are incentives that increase their sense of fulfillment and job satisfaction. Health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life and disability insurance, and medical, retirement, and vacation plans are widely available employee perks. They also use visual or video resources to complement the text.

Employee 52

Employee Stock Options Salary Hawaii 52

View from Seed

APRIL 27, 2020

Others are just starting out, but the financial safety net they thought they had from a spouse’s job or highly appreciated stock options has disappeared. We believe that it is unwise for VCs to try to time markets or do unnatural things to manage investment pace. This is scary. Number of Investments.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

Up and Running

OCTOBER 19, 2021

The American job market has become even more competitive amid the pandemic-fueled “Great Resignation” — the number of employees quitting their jobs peaked in April 2021 and has remained high over the past few months. . 4 qualities to look for in a good startup employee. Enterprising employees will make do anyway.

Startup 127

Startup Salary Stock Options Employee 127

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 17, 2013

It’s the annual bonus, next year bonus plan, option grant refresh cycle. For many management teams, especially in rapidly growing, or mature companies, it’s an important part of their existence as culturally we’ve oriented compensation, bonuses, and future compensation around an annual cycle. Let me give an example.

Stock Options 134

Stock Options Stock Vesting Retention 134

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

I was shocked to read an old Gallup study that indicates only 13 percent of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work, and more recent data shows only a small change in the right direction. Yet many managers unintentionally de-motivate their team by being too busy with business challenges to communicate, understand, or help people.

Stock Options 362

Stock Options Salary Leadership Stock 362

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. He has grown our US operations from 1 employee (him) to a global organization of 75 employees that will finish the year with 8-digit revenues (90+% recurring) and more than 350% year-over-year growth. Rob Bailey is the CEO of DataSift. You should read it.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Los Angeles 365

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2018

One of the lessons I have learned over the years as a business executive, and now as a mentor to entrepreneurs, is that if you really want employees who enthusiastically take ownership of their work, you have to start treating them like owners, not renters. Employees can’t be owners if they don’t understand the business targets and realities.

Employee 180

Employee Stock Options Leadership Stock 180

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

How to Divide Equity to Startup Founders, Advisors, and Employees. The part that I’d like to zero in on is when you’ve got a high growth company what are some of the best practices out there to distribute equity to the founders, advisors, and employees? Equity for Employees. Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 - 0.33.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

The allocation of shares among the founders, and the number and size of outside investments, will tells volumes about the health, stability, and management of the business. One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 120

Women Entrepreneurs Can

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

This could include tools such as automated customer relationship management systems (CRM), artificial intelligence (AI) for predictive analytics and market insights, or cloud-based solutions for data security and scalability. Additionally, consider offering incentives such as bonuses or stock options to reward employee performance.

Artificial Inteligence 52

Artificial Inteligence Guerilla Technical Review Stock Options 52

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

The allocation of shares among the founders, and the number and size of outside investments, will tells volumes about the health, stability, and management of the business. One more key employee or one more investor will probably not turn the situation around. Calculate employee stock option values and vesting times, as well as salary.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2022

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side.

Cost 313

Cost Stock Options Cloud Differentiation 313

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2017

Here is my summary of the ten top creativity mistakes we both still see too often: Criticize any new idea or employee suggestion. Escalate all problems upward to senior management. Avoid the macho concept that only top management can solve problems, or address strategic challenges.

Stock Options 141

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 141

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc). Mark Jeffrey - Q: “Is it more traditional to do your ESOP (employee stock option plan) before or after your angel or Series A funding?&#

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Many employees forget that there isn’t even a market for startup stock, until after the company has gone public, which hasn’t happened positively to many companies in the last few years. Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3% Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 19, 2017

How about employees all the way down the line and through the corporation? But how about awarding stock options for all employees? These plans are not as popular today because of their complexity and difficulty to manage, lost in favor of simple stock option plans.

Employee 97

Employee Stock Options Stock Equity 97

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Formal option plans for some. Some companies, especially those financed by angel or VC investors, have good, formal stock option plans with properly priced options set to reward all employees and managers in the event of a corporate sale. Each was surprised, pleased and effusive. Consider the kinds of exits.

Stock Options 192

Stock Options Stock Distribution Programming 192

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

My original post was directed at hiring managers. My view still stands – for many hiring managers a large factor in looking through resumes of somebody who is 30+ and has never worked somewhere for more than 18 months will be the job hopping element. Moving on … My second post was directed at employees.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

I was shocked to read an old Gallup study that indicates only 13 percent of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work, and more recent data shows only a small change in the right direction. Yet many managers unintentionally de-motivate their team by being too busy with business challenges to communicate, understand, or help people.

Product 322

Product Stock Options Salary Leadership 322

Up and Running

JANUARY 4, 2017

Employee taxes. Hiring the right employees. This is why it’s important to find employees with potential. See Also: How to Hire Your First Employee. Approach them as you would an investor—what can this possibly over-qualified potential employee gain from joining your team? Struggling with effective time management.

Small Business 122

Small Business Social Media Stock Options Employee 122

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

The most effective and productive team members are positive, driven and want to be measured by results rather than hear work hours, perks or stock options. If you haven’t yet focused on attracting and managing the right people, it’s still too early to look for funding. Motivation and commitment to results.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Stock Options Salary Hiring 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

The right motivated employees dilemma. Later you need specialists and managers. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network. Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, angels, and VCs.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

The Next Web

OCTOBER 25, 2013

We spoke to some of the hottest startups to hear their experiences and tips for building a space that welcomes productivity, creativity, and keeps employees happy. Having fast or takeaway options when there’s no time for breaks is perfect,” Goshen says. Location, location, location. Open and cozy is the way to go.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Design Product Startup 167

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Some rules about stock options and phantom stock: [Email readers, continue here…] The real insight here is that stock options or phantom stock are the tools of early-stage businesses used to attract great talent when there is not enough cash to pay market rates. How about multiple classes of stock?

Equity 62

Equity Stock Options Vesting Early Stage 62

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Every business needs benefits to keep employees happy, comply with relevant regulations and outdo competitors when attracting new talent. To that end, here are some tips on how to create firm foundations for employee benefits. As such, any aims you have for your employee benefits structure must be centered around a realistic budget.

Stock Options 132

Stock Options Retention Salary Employee 132

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side.

Stock Options 319

Stock Options Cloud Differentiation Social Media 319

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Wikipedia reminded me – it’s another Peter Drucker creation from The Practice of Management. I have a deeply held belief that a manager cannot “motivate behavior.” My partner Dave and I took the number, made a list of all employees, and figured out how much we were going to give each of them.

Stock Options 146

Stock Options Technical Review Leadership Equity 146

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

Forget to get around to setting up that Employee Stock Option Plan and want to be able to give the early guys their options at a low strike price? They usually ask for warrants (basically like a stock option) in exchange for taking a deferred fee. Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318